Shiver
by JacksonKid3
Summary: Chōji has loved Ino for as long as he can remember, and will love her forever more, 'til death do they part. Read as we catch glimpses of their interactions together from Chōji's third person point of view. AU oneshot song fic. Rated T for a couple of curse words, ya soft yuppies.


**Hello all! Um, ahaha, don't be mad, or irritated, because I know that you probably are considering the fact that I have a story that I should currently be working on. And I am still working on it! I just don't know what to do next. *hangs head* Sooo, I thought I'd make this little one shot for, not only the purpose of getting some creative juices flowing, but also as something to hold you over for the next chapter of What Now? See! There are some good things to come from this! (Hopefully) **

**Okay, and, also, I received a message fro this awesome dude/dudette (I think it's a dude, but just in case) named catspats31, and he/she's like a critiquing guy/guyette on this site - you know, he/she catches errors and rule breaks and what not, and he/she told me that mentioning song lyrics in a story is prohibited because doesn't have the permission to have them. **

**So, I removed the lyrics from the actual story, but what I _will_ tell you is just go look up the lyrics to Shiver by Coldplay on for the best way to follow along, and every time you see the ten colons, that means one stanza, when you see five colons, that means half a stanza, and when you see only three colons, that means one line from the stanza. Confusing I know, but just message me if you think you aren't getting it. And, if you just don't want to, you don't have to to be able to follow along with the story, but it's better with the lyrics . . . . Gives it a better feel . . . Sooo, enjoy! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, just the plot. Nor do I own the song Shiver. It belongs to the wonderful band known as Coldplay.**

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Chōji watched diligently as Ino again made her attempt at executing an Ollie. Ino used to resolutely refuse to even _attempt_ standing on a skateboard, even though every single one of her close friends rode skateboards as if it were second nature. But, finally, after lots of coaxing, black mailing, flat out bellowing (from her pink headed best friend), and mutterings about troublesome blondes from a certain pineapple head, Ino finally tried standing on one. And, finally, after about fifteen minutes of holding onto Kiba with a death grip when she first stepped on, and then ten _more_ minutes of shrieking her head off whenever the board moved even an inch after Kiba let go, she could stand, in almost total comfort, with very minimum wobbling. And, now, nearly four weeks later of literal blood, sweat, tears, melodramatic tendencies and threats, Ino was attempting to do a simple trick that Naruto showed her – the Ollie.

Chōji watched her take a deep breath, push the board forward, bend her knees, and then push off the ground, the board following her. And, finally, _finally_, she nailed it, sans a bit of wobbling after she landed. He grinned as he popped a BBQ chip into his mouth, and getting up from his perch at the top of the deck overlooking the main bowl in the park, he calmly hopped on the board, and rode down towards her at a lazy pace. He could hear everyone's whoops and whistles as he joined them in crowding around her. He continued to smile as she grinned and squealed happily . . . at her girlfriends. She gave him a fleeting smile before she turned to give Sakura, Hinata, and Tenten her undivided attention. The girls all encouraged her to try again until she did it perfectly. Nodding with determination and wiping the sweat from her face and neck, she got back on her board and began. Giving her a wide berth, Chōji, along with a couple more of them, began to lazily skate circles around her.

::::::::::

Chōji watched with a sharp eye as Ino carefully sliced the frog from the top of the stomach, down to the bottom. She moved the scalpel away and offered it to Chōji, but he frowned at it, and then at the dead specimen in front of them. Ino rolled her eyes. "It's dead, Chō. It's not gonna hurt you." He was about to speak, but she waved him off and finished the cut, starting at the top of the line to cross perpendicularly over it, and then repeating the same cut at the bottom. "I know, I know. You aren't scared of cutting it, you're just scared of hurting an innocent creature. Always the softie," she said with a gentle smile. "But, it doesn't matter, because the thing's already dead. And I'm sure it died a painless, easy death –"

"_She _probably suffered the entire time, and even more so because she probably had kids somewhere! We could be slicing up a mother, Ino! It isn't right!" The beautiful blonde snorted as she looked towards her guide that lay a little way away from them. "Chōji," she said as she sat the scalpel down to grab some pins from the small plastic holder next to the rest of their supplies. "You need to stop being so . . ." She waved her hands around, as if that would convey her point for her. "So, I don't know. I mean, it's good to be caring and gentle, but up until a certain _point_. I mean, come on Chō, if it – _she _were still alive, I'd absolutely refuse to even put on my safety gloves. Hell, I'd even call someone higher up to report it! But, it's _dead_, Chōji. And, to be honest, you sound kind of hypocritical." Ino finished pinning those flaps of skin down, and glancing down at her guide, she picked up a small pair of silver scissors, and repeated the cut, save for an extra line in between the two horizontal ones.

"I mean, you eat frog legs, don't you? As a matter of fact, you love frog legs, and you eat frog chili, too, so, I don't see what's wrong with dissecting –"

"I'm at the top of the food chain, Ino, so of_ course _I'll eat them if I want to. But when I eat them, I don't slice them up for fun and play around with their dead bodies. I don't poke fun at their deaths."

Finishing the final cut, Ino put the scissors down forcefully and turned to Chōji with a glare as she impatiently blew a piece of escaped hair out of her eye. "I'm not _playing around_ with its body, I'm professionally dissecting it for scientific research. Or did you forget that this was an _assignment_ for a Biology class." Chōji scoffed as he crossed his arms and leaned back to look at her.

"We both know you would have done it even if you had to pay for it, so don't try and drag Kabuto-sensei and his assignments into this. And, professional scientific research? That's what you'd call _that?_" He asked as he indicated the majority of the room. Many were playing with their frogs, making them dance around, snapping muscles, making them talk, etc. Ino frowned deeply at her peers, and then with a huff, she turned back around to the sliced up amphibian on the table.

"They aren't any of my concern, Chōji, and neither are they any of yours. And, come on, Chōji, we're not doing any of that stupid degrading stuff to our frog, are we? No. I'm sure momma frog is resting peacefully, smiling at us as we use her body for a good, knowledge inquiring cause," she said cheerfully as she finished pinning those last flaps. "Alright, now it says to pull the fat bodies out and identify the organs." She did as the guide said, and then paused as she was about to point out and remove the heart. She stared at the abnormality a moment longer, and then sucked in a sharp breath when her mind finally identified what it was. She knew what the small black beads she was looking at were, because Kabuto had briefly mentioned them before he allowed them to begin, and had said that he would give a prize to any team that had them in their frog. "Chōji . . . "she said quietly as he continued to stare down at the now dead frog eggs that lay in front of them. Ino was silent for a bit longer, trying to think of something to say.

" . . . You said she's probably resting peacefully," he said quietly. "But I'm sure that she's screaming in her grave. I bet she'll weep for eternity." Ino looked around uncomfortably for a moment, but then she sighed and raised her hand. Kabuto signaled that he would be there in a moment, and so Ino turned to Chōji with hard eyes and a frown.

"I think it's sweet, really sweet that you're so caring and kind. I really do. But, this frog is _dead_, Chōji. And, whether it's being sliced up with a scalpel, or sliced up with a knife before being thrown into a pot of chili doesn't change that. And, it's just a frog, and frogs don't care about their young, anyway. This frog would have laid its eggs, and then left them to be eaten or killed. The fact that we just _happened_ to get stuck with this particular frog doesn't change any of that." She looked at him a moment longer, and then sighed. Lightly, she leaned forward and bumped her forehead against his shoulder, grinning at him. "And, come on, you'll get over it. I know you, Chōji. You'll be fine. You always are."

:::::::::

Chōji stared at her quietly, just watching. He knew that he needed to wait for her tears to subside so that she could comprehend what he was saying, and what she herself was saying. He had already thrown her rain soaked clothes into the washing machine, and now he stared as she got tears onto the bottom of his brown _Kiss the Chef_ shirt that Ino herself had gotten him when they went to a convention with Shikamaru the previous summer. It was humongous on her, but he knew that she preferred to sleep in over sized stuff like that anyways. It made her feel safe. Ino began to quiet down, and then with her hands still in her lap, she stared at the middle of his hard wood bedroom floor.

"I just . . . I didn't think I'd ever catch him, you know? I mean, I know he's been cheating for _years _now, but, I just didn't want to believe it, you know? Especially considering the fact that he's introduced me to his whore _right in front of my mom._ What kind of a man does that, Chōji? What kind of a _father?_" She closed her eyes and turned her face towards the head of the bed. "While I was getting my stuff to drive over here, he stopped me and made me listen. He told me how he truly did still love my mom, but he just wasn't in love with her anymore. He kept telling me all this stuff, and I was starting to really listen, but then that floozy of his walked in, and when I saw her, I started gagging. I said some really nasty things to them, you should have seen their faces. My dad looked like I'd just stabbed him, and his little friend started to cry and looked like she was gonna pass out." She turned back towards the middle of the floor, and so Chōji could see her expressions flit around on the side of her face.

"I liked watching them suffer, you know? But, then my dad yelled at me for being so disrespectful to him and his girlfriend, and I just snapped, you know? I mean, how much of a nasty hypocrite do you have to be to say something like that? He's the one in the ratty sweat pants that are only being held up by his erection, he's the one that's shacking up with that wench _in my mother's _bed since I was in the fourth grade, and he now has the _audacity_ to try and punish me for calling him out? I turned to walk away because I couldn't stand to look at him anymore, when he said it." Ino's eyes welled with tears, but her face stayed blank and unmoving.

"He said that my mom's known this entire time." Chōji's eyebrows shot up and his eyes widened as Ino's brows drew down into a stormy expression and her eyes slitted. "He said that she's known since day one, and when he tried to talk with her about, she refused to listen and just acted like nothing was going on. And so he let her." She threw her hands up into the air and then put them behind her on the mattress and leaned her weight on them. "But, I mean, it makes sense though, doesn't it? How could you not know that your husband was cheating on you for so long? It's impossible. He even said . . ." Her hands clenched in the blanket. "He even said _she's cleaned up after them_." She let out a gusty sigh as she threw her head back to stare at the ceiling, beautiful long blonde hair tumbling down her back and her long, graceful neck exposed. This action also helped to expose the fact that her bra was in the washing machine, too, along with her panties. He had given her a pair of his boxer briefs, but said that he had nothing for her to use in place of her soiled bra. He had suggested using the hair dryer on it, but then she said that since she was going to sleep over anyways, she might as well let it wash. She had begun to laugh a little, until she collapsed on the bed and began to sob.

He frowned as he continued to stare at the side of her face. "I never would have believed it . . . But even though it's true, I'm still blown away. So, what are you gonna do now?" She let out a bark of laughter that only contained darkness and grief.

"There's _no way _I'm going back to my dad, and how could I ever face my mother? Knowing what I know about her?" She sat back up and turned to him with pleading, tear filled eyes. "Can I please crash here? Just until I know what to do next."

"You can stay even longer than that, Ino. For as long as you want. I'm always here for you, you know that." Her smile was soft as she moved towards him, wrapping her arms around him and snuggling into his massive chest.

"I know. That's why I'm here. It's the first place I thought to go," she said calmly. He nodded and held her tighter to himself, soothingly rubbing her hair from the top of her head, down to the tips at the bottom of her back. He continued doing this until he was sure she was calm, and then checking the time on his alarm clock, he gently released her, and smiled just as gently as she looked at him in puzzlement. "The wash cycle should be done now. Time passes when you cry all over people's homes and special shirts." She flushed bright, hot red, and then punched his arm, grumbling to herself. She then stuck her nose up and snootily climbed underneath the covers, grumbling even as only her pale blonde hair was visible. He gave her hip a soft pat as he stood and made his way towards the washing room. He calmly switched the clothes into the dryer, and when he started the timer, and the noise of the dryer covered the noise of the rain, he put his elbows on top of the empty washing machine and leaned his face into his palms.

He couldn't believe it. _Inoichi? _He'd known the head of the Yamanaka family for as long as he'd been alive. He just couldn't_ believe_ it. But why would Ino lie? He put his hands on top of the washing machine and clenched the top of it. And, besides, he knew her fake cries like he knew the back of his hand. If his suspicions were correct, Shikamaru had probably had an idea of what was going on, and then realized exactly what was going on after his mind matured enough to put the pieces together. He sighed as he tightened his hands for a moment longer, and then released the innocent machine and made his way back to his bedroom. He stood in the doorway, and watched her. The secret love his life, in his clothes, in his bed, in his trust and care. Inwardly, he sighed, because he knew these things didn't mean the same things to her as they meant to him. He walked around to the other side of the bed, and then climbed in. Immediately, she snuggled into his chest, and he wrapped his arms around her, as if this was how it was meant to be. He sincerely hoped that one day, it would be.

::::::::::

Chōji stared blankly at her as she stood there, hands on her hips in a natural display of feminine irritation, and plagued by a nasty case of bed head. Her grumpy expression had no effect whatsoever on him, except to make him appreciate her beauty and natural adorableness that much more. He just continued to stare calmly at her, waiting for her to explain why she had felt the need to wake him up at . . . he flicked his eyes to the clock on his nightstand, and then cocked an eyebrow. He continued to wait patiently for her 7:00 o'clock wakeup call explanation. She huffed and gestured around wildly. "Come _on_, Chōji! I thought you were at least a _semi_ neat person! There's trash and wrappers everywhere and – _Iiieeee!"_ She shrieked as she spotted a rather large cockroach poking out of a discarded BBQ chip bag. He never knew it was possible for her to catapult herself so high and so far, but she did it, and nailed her landing. Ending up in his lap, with a knee in his stomach _–"Oof!"- _a heel slamming sharply on his ankle _–"Ow!"- _and a pair of arms wrapped around his neck in a vice grip _–"Hnnngkkuhh,"_ she continued to shriek into his ear until he pried her arms off of his esophagus and stuck her with a glare.

"Ino!" he snapped. "Calm down. It's just one roach. They're harmless creatures –" She interrupted him with a squeal and shiver of disgust and wrapped her arms back around him and glued herself to his person. If he could move his arms, he'd pinch the bridge of his nose. Instead he settled for a weary sigh. _"Ino."_

"No!" she snapped. "I am not about to sit back and listen to you _justify_ the fact that you have _roaches living in your room!"_ She shrieked. "You need to clean up_, now!"_ Chōji rolled his eyes skyward, silently asking for the help of the gods.

"Ino, roaches are not only gentle creatures, but they are very clean. If you could only know how clean they keep their shells –" He was cut off by her shrieking as she leaped off of him and stared at him, wild eyed, from the end of his bed.

"And how would you know that, Akimichi Chōji?! Do you touch them? If you think they're so _clean_, I bet you don't bother washing your hands after you touch them!" She shrieked again and grabbed the sides of her head, clenching her hair and looking absolutely mad. "Are they in your bed, too? Your clothes? I'm going to go to take a shower in your parents' room, and then make breakfast;_ clean up this mess!"_ She shrieked. And then, with lightning speed, and only the very tips of her toes, she shot across the floor, shrieking every time her skin made contact with anything other than the floor.

"Yes, dear," he said as he rolled his eyes. And, _no_, he doesn't touch them, or let them all over his clothes and bed. Of course, there _is_ the occasional one, but he just flicks them away and keeps going. They have never bothered him, and so he never had a problem with them. They aren't anywhere else in the house, so his parents don't care, either. He doesn't get sick because of them, and it isn't like his room is _infested_. Just a couple roaches, here and there. No big deal. But . . . if Ino wants them gone . . . who is he to refuse her?

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He stared at her as she stared at herself. They were in a haunted house in the annual Konoha Halloween Festival, and they had gone in with everybody else, but somehow they had slowly separated until it had been just him and Ino, wandering into the House of Mirrors. It was quiet, just the two of them as they wandered about, until they came across mirrors that made you taller and wider. Chōji went to the one that made you elongated, and right next to him was a very wide Ino. She stared quietly at herself, and he thought that it might be getting at her, so he decided to disrupt her thoughts, where ever they might be headed. "You do know that what you see isn't real, right? Or, some prophecy or something equally as stupid."

"How would you know?" she asked him quietly. "How do you know that everything we've done so far was in some way some kind of prophecy? How do you now that as we speak _right now_, we're not messing up our futures?" She continued to stare quietly at her reflection. "What if this is similar to the me in the future somehow, hm? What if we're both staring at Future Pregnant Ino? Or, Future Father Chōji?" He just continued to stare at her, wondering where she was going with this. It wasn't like they had never discussed their future together, or anything. It was just the way she brought it on . . .

_Father Chōji and his Pregnant Ino . . ._

He seriously doubted that that was what she was getting at, but, he still hoped, even though he knew that it would come back to bite him. "Ino, you're looking too deeply into things. Seriously, take a deep breath and look around you. We're in a haunted house, created by kids from the academy who just thought that these mirrors would be a good way to attract customers. Nothing more, nothing less." He stared calmly at her, hoping he had gotten through her deep thinking. She continued to stare ahead.

"You're right. This isn't my future." She moved so that she was standing next to him, staring blankly at her stick thin reflection. "_This_ is. No pregnancy. No husband. No family. Just you, and Shikamaru, and Sakura, and everyone else. _That's_ my future. _That's_ my destiny." A draft rolled in, and her shoulders shook as she wrapped her arms around herself. He stared down at her, and then shrugged off his leather jacket, wrapping it around her. He smiled affectionately at her wide, blue eyes. Blue eyes he'd loved for as long as he could remember.

"No matter _what_ your future holds, I'll be in it. You can count on _that_ as your future. As your destiny."

She smiled up at him, and then turned to look at her reflection again. "Yeah, you're right. There's nothing special about these mirrors. Come on." She wrapped her arm around his and walked on. But the thought of them together, and the way she wrote it off, it made him ache a little more with every step.

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He walked down the beach, strawberry ice cream cone in one hand, and peanut butter and jelly cone in the other. He slurped idly on the strawberry one, and when he came to the huge red and orange umbrella standing guard over the beautiful blonde laying on the huge blue blanket, he made his way over and plopped down next to her on the previously vacated space. She looked up from her magazine, and grinned from underneath her huge sunglasses. "Yes! I thought I was gonna die!" she said as she made a grab for the ice cream cone that had started to drip. "Itadakimasu!" She drug her tongue around the cone, making sure to get the drips before they got all over her fingers. Satisfied that she cleaned up the mess, she began to eat the actual ice cream, making sounds of appreciation at every slurp. Chōji covertly stared from behind his own cone, and wondered how to say what was on his mind.

When they had all decided to have a beach trip today, he decided that today would be the day of his confession. Well, maybe not share all of his deepest feelings and thoughts, but at least ask her out and tell her how much he cares. Of course, if she accepted him, he'd be overjoyed, but, he was prepared for her rejection, as well. He would tell her that nothing had changed between them, and encourage her to realize that it really truly didn't have to mean anything if she didn't want it to. He would only worry about keeping her happy and safe and satisfied in any way he could. And, if that meant staying at a certain distance, then he would do so to his very best ability. He took a deep breath and talked himself into it. "Ne, Ino . . ."

"Chōji! This ice cream is _so_ good! Arigatou!" she cried as she slurped at it again. A small smile was on his face, but it he couldn't keep it up.

"Of course, Ino, any time. But, there's something I need to tell you . . ." She looked up at him curiously, waiting for him to finish. "See, Ino, we've known each other practically our entire lives –"

"Before that! Our parents got pregnant at the same time! As creepy as that may be . . ."

"Right, but, um, you see, there's something that I haven't told you yet . . . See, Ino," he said before taking a deep breath. "I like you. A lot. And, I have for a very long time." Her eyes widened and she sat straight up.

"Eh? Are we having a moment here? Holy crap, Chōji, of course you like me! I like you a lot, too! We've been best friends since the beginning of time!"

He frowned, and, for lack of anything else to do, he licked at his ice cream cone a little more. He knew that she wasn't meaning the same things he was, and wasn't seeing it the way he was. It was time to step it up a bit. He took a deep breath and licked the excess ice cream from around his mouth. "Ino, I don't think you get what I'm saying . . . I love you, Ino. I always have, and I always will. I've felt this way for as long as I could recognize it for what it was. And, don't worry, this won't change anything between us if you don't feel the same way . . ." Her eye brows shot up, and she choked a little on her ice cream. Patiently, he waited for her to catch her breath as he licked at his ice cream, his heart hammering in his chest, threatening to burst out and take a swim.

"What are you talking about, Chōji? Of course this doesn't change things between us! And how could I not feel the same way?" she said in disbelief. His eyes widened as his expression matched her own. "We're best friends Chōji! I've loved you since we were kids. How could you ever think otherwise?" Abandoning her ice cream in the sand, she moved to knees, and came forwards towards him until she was flush against him, and grabbing his hand, she moved his palm to the side of her face and smiled a smile so full of love and affection and gentle kindness, Chōji thought he would explode. "I love you, Akimichi Chōji. I'm sorry that I've never told you before, but, I just thought you already knew. If I had known that you didn't, I would have told you every single day."

_And kill me off a little more every time you did._

"Chōji, you're the best friend anybody could ever dream of having, and I'm not just saying that. You and Shika make up the two missing pieces of my soul, Chō. I love you, and I always will." She wrapped her arms as far around him as she could, and he could feel the wetness of her tears as they fell on his bare skin. He stared blankly ahead as he automatically wrapped his arms around her much smaller frame. He already knew in his heart that this would happen. He just knew it. But, even though a piece of him just withered up and flew away, he couldn't bring himself to hate her, or even himself. He just now was certain of his place in her life, and, as for the feelings of sadness and depression that came sprouting to the surface, he quickly squashed them down. She was still in his life, he was still in hers, and for now, that was all that would matter. It had to be.

::::::::::

He stared at the ceiling as Ino continued to speak from the other end of his phone. _"And, I mean, I guess I see where she's coming from, but come _on!_ Why is she being so soft about it! This is her _husband_, for crying out loud! _My dad!_ The _least_ she could do is _yell_, or break one of his stupid clay pots, or something! But instead, she's just _meekly_ and _timidly_ signing the divorce papers as if she's just signing some permission slip papers for school!" _she snapped. He knew that she was talking so freely because she was crashing at Sakura's house for the weekend. It wasn't that Ino minded telling her father exactly how she felt, but she was worried about hurting her mothers' feelings if she said those things in front of her. _"Ugh, I just, I don't know what to do! What should I say to her? And I don't mean my dad's little floozy home wrecker, Akane, that nasty wench."_ She snarled in disgust. He could tell that her teeth were gritted and that she was gonna lose it any moment, so he decided to begin speaking.

"Ino," he said soothingly, wishing she was in his arms so he could calm her properly. "Breathe. Just breathe. Inhale so hard that you think your head's gonna burst, hold it until you get dizzy, and then let it all out in one big go." He could hear her doing exactly as he said, and could imagine Sakura staring at her like she was off her rocker. Her breathing paused.

"_What are looking at, Forehead?"_ she snapped. He smiled as he leaned his head back and waited for her to calm. Finally, her deep breathes were those of a normally functioning human being, and she sounded a lot calmer. _"I feel better, thanks. But anyways, I really don't know what to say, or if I should even say anything to begin with."_ She sighed quietly. He looked at the ceiling calmly, ordering his thoughts before he spoke.

"First: Do you think you should talk to her about it? Or just sweep everything under the rug like you always used to?"

"_Well, I mean, on the one hand . . ."_

"Yes or no, Ino."

"_Yes."_

"Okay, when you picture telling her, what do you imagine saying?"

"_Everything! I want to talk with her about everything! I think I'll _explode_ if I just watch her anymore!"_

"Then_ tell_ her that! She won't know to talk about it with you unless you speak up . . ."

"_Well, she _should_ know, Chōji! This is imp__ortant!"_

"And how does she know that it's important to you?

"_**WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY TO ME?! **__How the Hell could this _not_ be important to me__, Chōji__?! How could you just write something like this off?!"_

"Ino," he started calmly.

"_And how could you be so calm about this?!"_ she shrieked into the phone.

"INO!" he snapped. "Listen to me! Have you ever, _ever,_ brought any of this up with _her?_ Have you ever discussed any of this with _her?"_

" _. . ."_

"No - _exactly_. You run circles around it, complaining to us, discussing it with us, hashing and rehashing it with _us_. Trust me; I'm not saying that I don't like talking with you about your problems – the fact that I'm the first person you come to is something that I don't want to ever change. But, you need to realize that it's not gonna get any better if you go venting your feelings to others, and continue to leave your mom in the dark, and then wonder why things aren't changing." She was silent, and he took this as a good sign. "So, whenever you're done holing up at Sakura's crib, you need to cowboy up, and act like you've actually got a pair of ovaries, and confront her." Her snort made him grin. "We both know you're mom's really gentle, but she isn't stupid. And she loves you like there's no tomorrow. So, I'm pretty sure that when she realizes how important this is to you, she'll be willing to talk. But," he said warningly, "You need to be prepared to be kept in the dark about a few things, because as the daughter, you're not privy to certain details concerning their marriage. Those things are strictly between your parents, and, as much as you may hate to hear this, those things may also include discussion with Akane."

Through her snarls and grumpy hissings of _that home wrecking wench_, he could tell that she was a lot calmer and willing to cooperate. And, now that she was calmer, he was going to hit her with the hard stuff. "Speaking of Akane, Ino, there's something you have to consider about her." She was quiet, but he knew she wouldn't be suspecting what he was about to say.

"Ino, Akane may not be the bad guy in this situation. It might be you."

Her gasp was so loud, so long, and so Earth shattering that he thought she would suck Sakura's house in with that one inhale.

"_**What did you just say, Akimichi Chōji?**_ _How dare you; __**HOW DARE YOU.**__ You had better explain yourself _right now_ before I hang up and never speak with your betraying ass __**again." **_He expected her reaction as easily as he expected the sun to rise tomorrow morning. He was calm and concise with his explanation.

"Ino. What do I always say to do in these situations? Take a deep breath, mentally step away from the problem, and look at it in an unbiased light." Judging by the way her breathing sounded, her chest was heaving on the other line, so he continued on fluidly to his point. "You say Akane is a home wrecker, right?"

"_Yes,"_ she said demonically through clenched teeth.

"And why do you say this?" he asked.

"_**Because my father cheated on my mother with her."**_

"And the affair was completely consensual, wasn't it?"

"_No, she tied him down and raped him, Chōji; Of course it was consensual! Get to the point!"_

"That _was_ my point." She screamed in frustration. "Ino, you just said it yourself; the affair was completely consensual. Your father _chose_ to engage in an adulterous relationship. He was not forced, or black mailed, or tricked. He willingly chose to break the bonds he and your mom created. And, this Akane, I'm not defending her, but you have to realize that, yes, she did connect herself with a married man, but she didn't force her way in. Your father told you that they both chose to move forward in their relationship together, right? Didn't he? So, how could this all be Akane's fault?"

"_Because –"_

"And even so, it can't be all her fault because your father chose this, too."

"_I'm not saying he's innocent! He's as much of a slutty home wrecker as that wench is!" _she bellowed.

"And I'm not saying that isn't true. I'm actually agreeing with you. But, Ino, there's one more thing you are refusing to consider in: Your mother."

"_Don't you __**dare **__-!"_

"Ino, I have to. I'm your best friend, and as such, I can't just sit back and watch you delude yourself."

"_I am not - !"_

"Your mother knew, Ino. You told me yourself that she's known since day _one _that he was being unfaithful. You know it, I know it. Your mother could have confronted him, but she chose not to. And I have a good idea as to why that is."

"_She's too gentle, Chōji! She lets herself get pushed around _all_ the time__ and I don't think she knows how to stand up for herself! Chōji, my mom doesn't know what to do with something like this! She – "_

"You're highly underestimating and insulting her, Ino. Here's an example. That time you almost got kidnapped, when we all went to the beach when we were seven? I remember how your mom turned from timid teddy bear to ferocious grizzly in a split second. She was the one that stopped the guy that had you, and I don't even have to remind you of what she did when she got her hands on him."

"_Well . . ."_

"Or the time she found out that our math teacher kept insulting you and screwing around with your grades. She marched into the principal's office and went toe to toe with him, and Mizo-sensei was fired before the bell for lunch rang. And she made sure that every single assignment and grade he messed with was excused and changed until you ended up with the highest average that year."

"_But . . ."_

"No buts. Your mom doesn't get pushed around; she just doesn't bother putting in her input when it isn't absolutely necessary. She doesn't get walked on; she just doesn't put up a fight if she doesn't feel like it. She only ever bothers speaking up and doing something when she feels that it's either in your best interest, or hers. And we both know your best interests are more important to her than her own."

" _. . . I never really thought about it like that . . . But, how am _I _the bad guy?"_

He sighed. "Ino, like I said, the relationship between your father and Akane is consensual, and your mother has no problem with it – "

"_Well she should have a problem with it!"_

"People fall out of love, Ino," he said gently. "It's a fact of life. And, I'm almost positive that your mom didn't do anything about it because of how you're reacting right now. She wanted to protect you. She wanted you to grow up with two fully functioning parents in the house. You have to try and understand, Ino. And, now that you're about to go off to college, I guess they think it's time to let each other go . . ."

"_But - but I don't _want _them to separate_!" She was crying on the other side of the line, and it made him ache inside. _"I want them to stay together! I –"_ He could hear Sakura comforting her, and wished with every fiber of his being that he was there, in her place, holding the woman of his dreams, the love of his life. He frowned deeply as the hand that had been resting peacefully at his side, now laid clenched in the sheets.

"Do you want to talk some more . . . ?"

"_What? No, no, it's okay. I bet you're probably tired of all the blubbering and want to go to bed, anyway." Her following laugh was choked and thick from tears. "Kami, I don't deserve you, Chōji."_

_You're right; you __**don't.**__ But for whatever reason, that isn't enough to stop me from being hopelessly in love with you, Yamanaka Ino._

She took a shuddering breath. _"Good night, Chōji. I love you_," she said softly, and then there was silence. He stared blankly for a moment, and then robotically, he closed his phone and tossed it onto the night table. He flipped over so that he his face was buried into one of his pillows, while he viciously punched the other over and over again until he finally fell asleep.

_Oh! Did you want me to change?  
Well I changed for good  
And I want you to know, that you'll always get your way  
I wanted to say  
To say, to say_

Chōji was focusing all his energy on balancing all of the bags of merchandise that went from his wrists to his elbows, juggling the two jumbo Cokes in his hands as he unlocked the door, _and_ listening to Ino as she _continued_ to rant about the snooty sales girl at the _Rue 21_ they'd been to while at the mall. He led her through the kitchen, up the stairs, and into his room. Hearing her rant abruptly stop made a smirk come to his face as he put the Cokes on his nightstand, dropped his keys next to them, and calmly, and quite carelessly, let the bags slide off his arms and onto his huge bed. He turned to face her, smirk still in place as she stood there, jaw on the floor, eyes about to pop out of her skull and roll around before disappearing into a mouse hole. "Well? What do you think? I chose all the colors and designs myself – no help whatsoever. And, _no_, this is most definitely _not_ a dream. But, anyways, that's why I wanted to get all these new clothes – to go with my new house stuff. _So?_ _What do you think?"_

She slowly walked in, as if in a dream, or trance, and surveyed his room with a critical eye. "You know," he said conversationally as he sat down on the side of his bed and watched her. "I was wondering why you didn't say anything as we came in. I couldn't believe you didn't notice how I fixed up the house. I guess the fact that my room is absolutely spotless broke you from your thoughts and has completely stunned you." She continued to look around curiously, and then suddenly froze as if she'd seen a ghost. He looked worriedly at her, but then she suddenly blew past him and through the door, pounding down the stairs. He could hear her let out a delighted squeal, and he dropped his head into his hands with a smile.

_Classic Ino._

He was secretly preening inside, and honestly was _very_ relieved. He had decided to redo his new house because he didn't feel like it was completely _his_, even after he finished moving in and getting comfortable. He had carefully chosen every single detail and material with a critical eye, slowly piecing together his comfy house until he felt completely _at home._ Of course, he didn't plan on living here for the rest of his life, but he _did_ plan on selling it and buying a ton of acres out in the country, and building his own house, truly making it completely _his._

_Well, hopefully, Ino will want to share it with me._

And as if summoned by his thoughts, Ino came flying back in and landed on his lap, knocking him back onto the bed. She was grinning like mad, and looked absolutely joyful and exuberant. "I can't believe it! I'm so proud of you! Ahh!" She squealed as she proceeded to lay on top of him, and try as hard as she could to squeeze the life out of him. Grinning, he squeezed her back.

_Hopefully, this is a taste of my future._

::::::::::

She was sobbing into his chest uncontrollably. Wearing his clothes, laying on his bed, underneath his covers. He continued to soothingly rub her back, waiting for her to speak. "I just can't believe they actually went through with it! My parents; divorced!" She continued to cry, and so he decided to do the one thing that he knew would calm her. He started to sing softly to her. He sang as her cries slowed, he sang as she pulled away to grab some Kleenexes from his night stand, and continued to sing as she finally calmed, save for the hiccups that interrupted her more or less normal breathing. He continued to rub her back, run his fingers through her hair, and hum to her quietly. Finally, her breathing was deep and even, and she was sleeping calmly in his arms, trusting him completely. He closed his eyes as he kissed the top of her head and left his lips there for a moment, smelling his shampoo and his soap and soaking in the moment.

_Hopefully, this is a taste of my destiny._

::::::::::

He stood there in front of the island in his kitchen, where he had dumped his groceries and keys. Next to those abandoned groceries were his so far sorted stacks of mail. He had stopped sorting to open up a certain, heavy, fancy letter, hand addressed to him in flawless calligraphy. And, so, here he was, nearly five minutes later, still standing there, still in front of his island, hands still held up, but the wedding invitation lay innocently on the counter surface in front of him where it slipped out of his hand.

_This isn't possible._

But it was. He had read the paper over and over again, hoping he was stuck in one of his mind's sick dreams, or somehow reading and re reading the letter wrong. But he was awake, and his vision was perfect.

_How could this be?_

He knew that she dated people off and on, but it was never serious. It had never been serious before. They never talked much about it, but that much he knew. It was that much that kept him afloat in a sea of sadness. But he was now slowly being drug down to the bottom.

_How could you do this to me? I'm so love in with you . . . I've always been so in love with you, Ino. There's no way that that will ever change . . . _

A slow ache started to form in his stomach until it turned into a painful knot.

_Please don't be true, Ino. Please call me right now and tell me that this is all some sick prank that you cooked up . . . Please._

His phone did not ring, and lightning did not strike the Earth and swallow him whole. But his nose did start to burn, and his eyes did begin to get wet.

_This isn't real, this isn't happening. My world is not over, and I am not dying. This is not real, this is not happening . . . _

But on the contrary, his knees gave out, he slid to the floor, and his tears fell so hard that they threatened to flood his kitchen. His vision blurred as he brought his hands an inch away from his face, than away, than towards the cupboards in front of him, then back to his face, than into his hair. He absolutely could not see anything, snot was starting to drip out of his nose, and his chest was shaking and heaving and he couldn't breathe and he started to shout and yell in complete and utter agony.

_This can't be real this can't be real this can't be real this can't be real this can't be real this can't be real this can't be real this can't be real this can't be real this can't be real this can't be real this can't be real this can't be real this can't be real this can't be real this can't be real this can't be real this can't be real this can't be real this can't be real this can't be real this can't be real this can't be real this can't be real_

He was now lying on the floor, completely lost in his sobs and heart break and he couldn't get up and he couldn't see because his eyes were clenched tight and he couldn't breathe because the knot in his stomach was suffocating him and his tears were choking him and he couldn't breathe right and he just didn't know what to do.

_I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you_

An hour passed and he was still laying there, still dazed, confused as to how he got onto the floor, and why there was a terrible a crick in his neck.

_I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you_

After sometime he finally got up, finished sorting his mail, put his groceries away, and grabbed an ice pack from the freezer and made his way up the stairs. The wedding invitation did not move an inch from where he left it.

_I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you_

Robotically, he took his shirt off, kicked off his jeans, wrapped the ice pack in a random shirt on the end of his bed, put it to his neck, and climbed in under the covers. Tears began to fall again as he stared at the alarm clock on his night stand.

_I love you. I always have, I always will. But I wish I didn't._

He didn't wipe the tears away, he didn't move, and he didn't sleep. He just continued to cry, continued to die a little more, and continued to watch the numbers change.

_Maybe this is a taste of my future. _

_**I hate you, Yamanaka Ino. **_

_Maybe this is a taste of my destiny._

:::

He watched her walk down the aisle, graceful and beautiful and not his. He accepted her bouquet as she handed it to him, answered her huge smile with a small one of his own, and watched on diligently, executing his role as her Man of Honor flawlessly.

:::

He listened to her from his seat at her immediate left as she spoke, standing with a microphone in hand, a blush on her face, and a never ending smile on her lips. The newlyweds were sitting side by side in the middle of a long table, their Men and Maids of honor fanning out to either side of them. He listened as she told funny stories she and her husband shared, she and her family shared, she and he shared. Those were the ones her committed to memory. The faces she made, the hand gestures she made, the way her laugh sounded as it rang out across the back yard they were all in, because Ino wanted a small, homely feel to her wedding. When they were all finished, they were going to fire up the barbecues before the dances began. People were already nibbling on food from the long pot luck style table. But the only thing he paid any attention to was the love of his life, the woman of his dreams.

:::

He stared at her as she and her husband twirled around the dance floor, watched as she and her father twirled around the dance floor, murmuring quietly to each other as they moved, tears running down their faces. He paid attention to his plate while her husband danced with his mother, and then watched as Ino danced with her mother, both women murmuring quietly to each other, tears running down their faces as they moved around and around. And then he watched her, as they danced together, twirling around and around, not talking, just smiling at each other. He pretended that this was the Husband and Wife's first dance. He pretended that he was going to dance with her forever. He caught a glimpse of Ino's mom and dad dancing with each other, talking civilly, Yamanaka Akane smiling from the edge of the floor at them. He was happy there were happy. He trained his eyes on Ino again. He was happy she was happy.

She was still in his life, he was still in hers, and for now, that was all that would matter. It had to be.

::::::::::

**A/N: Woo! Finished this monster! And it only took me like, four days! . . . .' I know, I should have been working on What Now?, but I like I keep saying, I wasn't sure how to order my thoughts, and once I got started on this, I wanted to make sure that I finished it. So, tada, first ever one shot! I'm so proud of myself! And, I promise that I'm gonna go work on What Now? as **_**soon**_** as finish going over this and then post it. **

**Happy graduating to all seniors! I couldn't make it to my school's graduation because I'm babysitting my brother and sister =/ (I'm not the one graduating, but I'm friends with most of the senior, class, so yeah. I still got two more years, lolol~)**

**Review and favorite and follow! These things help keep my passion for writing alive. If you have any questions, feel free to shoot me a PM, or leave it your review.**

**Ya'll come back now, ya here? Pip pip for now!**

**Peace&Penguins**


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